Back To School For Teachers

Program To Target Math, Science Education In City

July 21, 1990|By Casey Banas, Education writer.

An academy to upgrade Chicago public school teachers in science and mathematics instruction skills will be launched Thursday in the nation`s most ambitious effort to improve instruction in the classroom.

The brainchild of Nobel laureate Leon Lederman, the Academy for Mathematics and Science Teachers in Chicago will be housed on four floors of the underused Illinois Institute of Technology Research Institute, 10 W. 35th St.

``This will be an academy by the teachers, for the teachers, for the education of Chicago`s schoolchildren,`` said Gordon Berry, academy acting director on a six-month leave from his position as an atomic physicist at Argonne National Laboratory near Lemont.

Berry also is president of the Citizens Schools Committee, a group that for more than 50 years has been a leader in battling for better Chicago schools. He said the academy is yet another component of school reform efforts.

The goal is to improve the ability to teach children about science and mathematics, two subjects in which American schoolchildren tend to lag.

Opening ceremonies for the academy will be at 3:15 p.m. Thursday in its offices, which are being provided rent-free by IIT until a lease can be negotiated.

Lederman and other proponents have said their goal is to provide updated training for all 15,000 Chicago public school educators teaching science and mathematics.

In April, Lederman told the Education Writers Association annual meeting in Chicago, ``We have no money, we have no building, but we will open in September.``

After the April announcement, Melvin Bernstein, IIT chancellor, offered space in the university`s research building.

Lederman last year won a pledge of federal financial support from James S. Watkins, the U.S. secretary of energy. But that met a roadblock from federal attorneys who questioned whether Department of Energy funds could be allocated for such an initiative.

The issue is being resolved because Sen. Paul Simon (D-Ill.) has secured approval by the Senate Committee on Labor and Human Resources of a bill allowing federal agencies with science and mathematics responsibilities to participate in education activities.

The committee has approved $5 million in education programs the Department of Energy plans to fund, including $2 million for the Chicago academy.

Also, Watkins is expected to announce Monday a $270,000 federal planning grant for the Chicago academy, and the National Science Foundation will match that with $270,000, according to Simon`s office.

Berry said the first group of 50 teachers is expected to begin the 10-week program in December.

Though the academy has not been started, he has received requests from 25 schools who want their teachers to participate.

But first, Berry said, 50 replacements must be hired to fill in for teachers attending the academy. Also to be found are five academy leaders and the teachers of the teachers.

Berry said a local school council must first approve participation of its teachers. Then an academy staff member will visit the school, conferring with teachers and the principal about their perceived needs in improving science and mathematics instruction.

Programs will be tailored to meet those needs. Teachers will spend two or three days at the academy for up to 10 weeks and be at their schools the rest of the week so they can try out the new methods they have learned.

After teachers complete the program, academy staff members will observe the teachers in their classrooms and offer counsel.

Berry said the academy has an annual funding goal of $8 million and will seek state, local and private money.